


The Guardian of Tír na nÓg

by BronzeLion



Category: X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Afterlife, Alternate Universe - Magic, Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Death, Disabled Character, Eventual Romance, F/M, Heartbreak, Loneliness, Magical Artifacts, Neo-Paganism, Occult, Pagan Gods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 16:17:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12511320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BronzeLion/pseuds/BronzeLion
Summary: Losing your love leaves a scar. Knowing she is trapped in the void between life and death is even more painful. And having been previously dead for over a year, banished from heaven for eternity, Kurt realises that the world has moved on without him.So when Layla Cormac, the new Human Art teacher, runs into his life babbling about ancient Pagan Mythology, multiple afterlives and a string of kidnappings it sounds like the kind of crazy adventure he needs.Perhaps there's a way to save Amanda. Perhaps this magnetic connection with the introverted, one-handed partner would be good for them both... or spell trouble. Either way, who better to deal with the afterlife than a demon?





	1. Faith in the Fog

**Author's Note:**

> This work is loosely based around the events of Nightcrawler Homecoming and the Nightcrawler comic book series. HOWEVER I have written it so that it may be accessibly read by all as I know not everyone reads the comic books. All you need to know off the bat is that Xavier and Jean are dead (one more surprising than the other there) and that most of the main X-men are either doing their own thing or are teachers at the Jean Grey School for Higher learning. Also if you haven't guessed from the synopsis, Kurt did a little stint dead! :'D The Christian afterlife has been confirmed canonically IU. Most of these things will be explored later in the story but I'm just giving y'all a heads up. I am bending a few things with characters such as Annie and some of the students though so if you prefer just think of this as an alternate universe.  
> Enjoy!

Anyone else would’ve mistaken their chanting for the wind that night.

Victoria’s heart burned as she sprinted through the forest. Bare footfalls thudded so hard on the dirt that her ankles felt close to giving out. She spun, eyes searching desperately for something remotely recognisable in the area apart from towering trees and this damned fog! 

‘Oh god- Oh God!’ It was the first chance she had alone to recognise the sticky substance smeared on her body, dripping off her hands and filling her nose with a smothering metallic stench that made her gag. The mixture of disgust and closing dread rolled her stomach but she couldn’t stay still. They were coming for her!

It echoed around in her skull, bouncing off her brain to the point where she clutched her head in pain. 

‘LEAVE ME ALONE!’ She shrieked as her knees buckled. 

What do you do when you feel your life boiling down to one moment? When your weak, desperate and not enough anymore, who do you look to? Family were too far away and to self-serving to care about spawn. Friends? Victoria’s left her to save their own skins… or did she leave them? Details are such grey little things. Like worms. 

A gentle hand brushed against her back as she cried. Victoria bucked wildly away with a demented screech, her limbs kicked and punched towards whoever had caught her. The mystery-person snatched her wrists and pinned her against the closest tree with ease, another hand pressing her mouth shut. 

‘Be still!’

A twig snapped behind the tree and they both froze in place. The thick fog around them parted in smoking swirls as they slipped through the terrain with liquid fluidity. These hooded figures glided through the forest in an almost unearthly manner, pacing in calm, methodical strides. 

Victoria somehow heaved her gaze to the stranger. A woman, tall and slender with striking blonde hair and such piercing green eyes that she was glad that the woman was glaring at the hooded figures as slowly stalked past. If looks could kill took a whole new meaning. 

A moment passed.

Then two.

Only when the chanting had dulled down into faint, indecipherable gibberish did the woman step back from smushing her body against the tree. 

‘Now I will take my hand off your mouth. You will remain silent. Understand?’ She spoke softly, but with a faint accent that certainly wasn’t American. 

Victoria nodded.

The woman peeled back her hand, her tense expression eased when Victoria kept to her word and remained quiet. They took the time to regard each-other quickly. The woman wore a pristine white dress that seemed ripped out of a fantasy and in the right light her hair almost glistened with small jewels woven into it. 

‘Who are you?’ She breathed, unable to maintain eye-contact with the stranger for long before checking over her shoulder for the hooded figures to re-appear like a horror film jump-scare.

‘I’m here to help. You called for me Victoria.’ She brushed a ratty piece of blood clotted hair out of Victoria’s face and gently cupped her cheek.

She twitched away from the touch, but such an entrancing expression sucked her further into her sway. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. They streaked down her face in fat drops that cut through the caked grime. ’I wanted to explore my spiritual side not get hauled off by the cool-aid cult of witches banging on about freeing shit with virgin blood. Like, I’m not even a virgin!’ Victoria babbled as they started to sneak back the way she came. ‘Are you a spirit? They kept raving about spirits a-and cleansing the world!’ 

‘I am The Guardian of Tir na Nog. Protector of the lonely and heartbroken. My name is Niamh, child.’ She hushed sympathetically, ‘I won’t let them hurt you anymore.’ 

A hysterical scoff escaped, ‘Fat lot of good you’ve been! Where were you when I was kidnapped? Where were you when- when…!’ 

‘I’ve been trapped here for a long time. The fog was once a way to protect souls in Tir na Nog. Now, the gods use it as a cage.’ Niamh stalked through the trees, only to duck back behind them at the slightest swirl of the fog. ‘But you have the chance to make this right.’ 

‘H-how?’ 

Suddenly, a bright flash of light struck between them, blasting the two away. 

Victoria screeched, scrabbling in the dirt until she managed to climb to a stand. Everything swirled in a sickening motion, gravity spiralled and she felt herself staggering and hitting the ground once again. The hooded creature was all she could untangle from the dizzied visions and she choked on her thundering heart. ‘NIAMH!’ 

Thunder echoed so powerful the ground itself quaked. Out of nothing the woman in white summoned a long sceptre of bleached wood, a strange circular piece of glass was fixed into the twined top. The glass changed colour as it swooped past the trees and Niamh slammed the staff into the ground. The world itself bent to her will as another roll of thunder forbade the hooded one’s fates. The trees contorted, snapped and splintered as if it had bones to break. The twisting branches snagged the hooded ones around Niamh and Victoria, raising them into the air and curling into their bodies until it crushed them all in the canopy. 

Niamh grinned. ‘They will never touch us or this land again.’ 

‘H-how?’ Victoria propped herself up against the tree but flinched away in fear of being its next victim. 

‘All gods are given power through belief child. Yours allowed me to claim my sceptre and protect you.’ She pointed to the mangled bodies. ‘Now come. We escape this place. Where did you come from?’ 

Victoria looked around, taking a shuddered breath before nodding. She pointed to two trees that bowed and knitted together like folded gnarled hands. ‘I went through those. It should lead to a tunnel that goes into the Sea caves. Those crones doused me in blood and some creepy glowing shit happened before I escaped. I don’t know what will happen when we get there.’

Niamh just smiled, her hand gliding over the hilt of her sceptre. ‘Don’t dwell on such worry.’

For the first time in her ordeal Victoria felt… safe. No one could touch her with Niamh by her side. A small smile twitched her mouth. She beckoned and began to trace back her steps through the fog. 

After a small amount of time they found the mouth of the tunnel, a yawning hole that inclined into the mountainside. Two pillars blocked the path with runes carved into the stone that radiated a dominating ancient magic. The pressure was enough to make both women rub their temples gently. 

‘Can your magic get through this?’ Victoria swallowed nervously. 

‘No. This spell was cast by a god much stronger than I…’ Niamh found it difficult to approach the pillars, pain evident in her expression. ‘However, we can trick it. The living ones may pass back into your realm. We just need it to believe we are you.’ Niamh glided back to Victoria, ‘Let me have your body.’

‘What?!’ Victoria’s eyes went wide.

‘All you’ll need to do is agree. I’ll travel to the living world, dispose of the scum who did this to you and then come back to break down the barrier from the other side.’

Shaky strides had Victoria pacing away. Frustration built as she couldn’t focus with that energy messing with her head. She cried out.

‘Do you trust me?’ Niamh’s whispered words broke through the compressed fury that deafened her.

‘Yes!’ 

‘Then believe in me.’ Niamh took Victoria’s blood crusted hands and entwined them in her pale slender fingers. 

Victoria looked up at the beauty in front of her. A vision who was willing to save someone as dirty and desperate as her. A small pang of adoration sparked in her chest and, somehow, Niamh responded, growing brighter like an angel.

‘Say it.’

‘I- I…’

Niamh smiled and let go of Victoria’s hands, she held up the sceptre and through the glass, watched her with sharp scrutiny. 

‘I believe in you.’

By the time Victoria had the chance to look anywhere else the sceptre was taken away. In Niamh’s place stood… Victoria. Deep brown curly hair replaced blonde, her dress changed into a business suit, the only thing that didn’t change were her stunning eyes. 

Slowly Niamh stepped back. Through the pillars with staff in hand. A spark of green momentarily froze her, but It didn’t hurt any more as she passed through. She looked back at Victoria a triumphant grin on her face.

‘You’ll come back for me, right?’ 

Niamh responded nodding gently. ‘There will be more Victoria… lost in the fog. Should you find them make sure they believe in me too. I’ll be able to protect you better if more souls believed in me.’ 

‘Yes.’ 

With that, Niamh disappeared into the tunnel. 

In the silent fog, Victoria realised she couldn’t feel the cold. The wind that rattled the trees didn’t tousle her hair or brush her skin. 

Numb. She was numb. 

Slowly, through the licking fog she saw them, the wind had stopped yet the rustled noises churned into the heart stabbing chanting. The hooded creatures relentlessly closed in on her and all Victoria could do was turn to the gateway. 

‘Niamh!’ She cried, checking over her shoulder as the horrors slithered closer. She pressed forward but the pillars blazed with furious green energy, throwing her back from the escape. ‘NIAMH!’

The only thing she felt was fear. 

…

Her wretched screams echoed through the tunnel, but Niamh had other priorities. She could smell the sea, hear the waves she ached to listen to again. The cold prickling against her skin made her heart rise with unadulterated joy and she laughed. Oh, how she laughed as she marched through the sea tunnel, her eyes casting on every witch that sat chanting for her return!

‘Mistress. The world has changed since your last visit.’ One of her followers shimmied forward on her knees in the wet sand.

‘And how I despise it so.’ Niamh sighed. ‘But we have work to do I take it?’

‘New creatures have surfaced. Mutants and other super powered beings. They- they aren’t natural my lady. They poison the land.’ 

‘And this is what you ask of me in repayment.’ 

The witches nodded. 

‘Very well. But Tir na Nog is fading. The gods are not as strong as they once were. I wish to restore it to the paradise it once was before the void swallows it.’ Her eyes landed on the surf, the shallow waves that went back and forth in bubbling delight. She fought the melancholy that washed over her, only allowing steady steps as she made it to the mouth of the cave. 

‘You need more belief?’ 

‘No,’ she smiled softly. ‘I need utter devotion.’


	2. Whisky and the Blue Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Layla and hijinks ensues. *jazzhand*

Anger didn’t even begin to cover the mood Storm was stewing in this morning. She tossed yet another file into her desk drawer and slammed it shut. ‘That was the fifth one in three months!’ 

Kurt sunk in the chair, feeling very much like a young boy bracing for a scolding. 

‘So?’ Logan crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. If Kurt didn’t know any better he would have guessed dear Wolverine was there so he could escape out of the window at the first whiff of trouble. ‘Why are we here?’ 

A quick headcount through the room noted that aside from him and Logan, Hank and the resident nurse Annie had also been called into the meeting. An eclectic group to say the least but his friend did have a point. Why were they there?

Ororo’s eye twitched a little and she folded her hands on the desk. ‘We have been black listed by the national board of teachers for a number of reasons that they sent me by letter. There was a length of issues presented as well as highly detailed complaints.’ 

‘Did you stress the “by letter” bit on purpose?’ Annie’s fed-up attitude practically emanated from the chair next to him. ‘Because if the problem is being stuck in the 17th century then I don’t see why we were called in this early.’ 

‘Stand. Up.’ 

Annie did so reluctantly and Ororo handed her the letter. As soon as Annie grasped it, the letter unravelled to the floor.

Hank tweaked his glasses as he inspected it. ‘Is that fax paper?’

‘Yes, and it’s double sided.’ The headmistress sat back in her chair and individually locked eyes with the four. ‘Your names were mentions specifically.’ 

‘What could we have possibly done to offend them?’ Hank’s stunned expression spoke volumes. This couldn’t have been said for some of the people in the room but he was always cautious and cordial with the newest human hires. 

It had been a long time since the worry had surfaced but as Kurt met Hank’s gaze it was evident that they both had the same idea. Were people still uncomfortable with their appearances? 

‘Hank, you were mentioned for academic insult!’ Annie snorted as she engrossed herself in the paragraphs of nicely worded ranting. 

‘Take this seriously.’

‘’Ro, why is this so important?’ Kurt tilted his head, briefly scanning the letter over Annie’s shoulder. ‘We can’t force humans to like us mein freund.’ When Annie shot a look at him he flashed an apologetic grin, ‘no offence.’ 

‘With elf. You tried the experiment. It didn’t work. Move on.’ Logan put as delicately as a jackhammer. 

‘Because one day they will have to go out into the world, a world full of humans, and they need to be comfortable around them. Having more human staff would ease the process of leaving. The Jean Grey school will always be a safe place for mutants but the students can’t stay forever.’ 

‘Yeah, and we’re not all complete mutant-phobes.’ Annie shot a smug smile back at Kurt. 

‘Some of the students have come from traumatic backgrounds. Is this wise?’ He should know. Being chased by the definition of an angry mob is something you never forget; Pitchforks and all.

‘Hence why these teachers were carefully chosen and certain rules were put in place for them.’ Ororo rubbed her temple gently, ‘I admit this is more challenging than I expected, but I’m trying one last time before I contest. We need to address these issues before she arrives today.’

‘Who’s the new teacher? I thought the Board had blacklisted us.’

‘The American Board has. This one is journeying from Ireland.’ She rooted in the drawer and handed a file out to the group. ‘Her name is Dr Layla Cormac. She taught for three years at a Special Needs Catholic school and has a Doctorate in the Arts. We are very lucky she was available.’ 

‘Why did she leave her job?’ Logan scanned the document and the picture of a cheerful woman with naive brown eyes and red bushy hair. 

‘She’s Pagan.’ 

‘Oh.’ Kurt muttered, hoping she didn’t have any bitter feelings towards Christians. He noted she was quite a pretty woman and he’d no doubt her personality was just as charming as her smile. The thought of not having the opportunity to talk to her because his mere existence left a bitter taste. He passed on the file. ‘So, what’re the problems we have to fix. Do I need to find my modulator?’ He knew exactly where it was of course, for emergencies. 

‘No, nothing like that. She knows what she’s signed up for. But the letter from the Board mentioned- and I quote, “Bamf Harassment”. It is seriously now a legal clause. I have to ask, please keep the them away from her whilst she’s settling.’ 

Kurt nodded. Not that it was a simple thing to keep track of about 50 smaller versions of himself. True, he had a mental connection with them but to an extent they had their own autonomy. Some were easier to comply than others. He’d at least try reign them in once he was out of the meeting. 

‘Hank, I shouldn’t need to tell you twice to not undermine the teacher’s credentials. Annie, stop telling them just how often this place is attacked.’

‘It’s true!’ 

‘They know the protocol they don’t need to be told they may die at any moment from rubble, lasers or explosions!’ 

Annie pouted. ‘Those are the good stories,’ she muttered. 

‘And Logan…’Ororo and him exchanged a heated exchange of serious staring. It stretched out but no one dared break the silence. 

After a long moment Logan nodded stiffly, ‘Violence. Got it.’ 

‘What about the fifth one?’ Annie quizzed, tossing the file to Hank. ‘The guy was cool. Met him often for heart treatment and the letter said he left due to- and I quote, “stress from upper management.”’ 

Storm’s eyes narrowed. 

‘Be very careful.’ Kurt murmured, successfully biting back a small smirk with his fangs. 

‘All I’m saying is that we all seem to be guilty in this room… and that ‘Ro need to ease off a little. I wasn’t kidding when I said the last guy was nice.’

‘Fine. I shall consider giving her some space to adjust. Luckily Miss Cormac has no severe conditions.’

Hank squinted at the very bottom of her file. ‘She does have a congenital left-hand anomaly… It’s written in small print at the bottom of her file.’ 

Annie ooh-ed sinisterly. 

‘English?’

‘Miss Cormac is, um, effectively…’ when silence responded he awkwardly elaborated in a quiet voice, ‘clinically disabled.’ 

A red light blipped on the desk, along with a voice on the speakers, ‘X-men, there’s another attack on mutants in progress. It’s the cultists again. Code Orange for the school.’ 

…

Layla stood, stiff as a pencil, slap bang in the middle of the lobby next to her suitcase and the three boxes carrying all her worldly possessions. 

‘Hello?’ She sheepishly called into the empty halls. The front desk was unmanned. Not a soul to be found. All she could do was bob about and wait. 

And to think she was worried about being late, running around like a mad hen trying to catch a cab at the airport. ’Well… hi home.’ 

The large white room was topped with a glass, domed roof allowing the lovely autumn evening glow to seep in. The whole place felt modern and tech with glowing panels for information, but it integrated with lovely strong trees and a water feature. Stiffly she shuffled over to the plants and sat on the smooth wall surrounding it. Hopefully she didn’t look like she was loitering for no reason. 

Ten minutes later she decided to fix her hair so she looked less like a bridge troll and more like a civilised human being. A yawn tried to escape as she pinned it into a bun. 

Another twenty minutes and she’d walked a complete circuit round the hall, reading every glowing panel in the room. Most of them were memorials. Layla noted to pay her respects with some flowers later. Was it regulation approved? She’d read over the thick documentation Headmistress Monroe sent over so many times that the paragraphs barely registered as words anymore, yet she still felt like smashing her head against it again in hopes of beating it all into her drowsy, thick skull. 

She started nervously brushing her stump against her hand in a done-and-dusted motion. It helped her keep calm even if it did hurt the bones in her stump slightly. Nerves forced her heart to thud in her chest and never mind cold feet, her whole lower body was numbed from the potent combination of sitting through an 8-hour flight and fear. That and her stomach felt like it was training for the Paralympic gymnastics team. What if they don’t like you? What if the kids don’t like you? There’s no family to save you half-way across the world. The little shit of a voice that everyone has whispered in the back of her mind. 

‘You’ll be fine. They are normal people and you just have to. Be. Yourself.’ She breathed, slotting the phone back into her back pocket. 

When she circled round back to the boxes however, she found a small blue creature poised on pile. It spun round on the lid, trying to pull open the flap it was currently sitting on with stubby little fingers. It seemed unaware of her, a little whine escaped and its tail flicked about in irritation. 

Her whole body froze as she just observed it- no him. He looked like a he. Oh shite, what if she were wrong? What if it was one of the students! He looked a little young to be a student but who the feck knew nowadays. The world was crazy with conspiracies, aliens raining from the sky and new mind-bending world calamities practically happened every Tuesday. Space is warped and time is bendable. This little guy could be thousands of years old and the font of all knowledge for all she knew!

Just as Layla began spiralling down into untold levels overthinking the little blue imp lifted its head and sniffed the air. He snapped around to stare at her, huge yellow eyes blinked slowly.

‘Hi.’ Oh, such profound and insightful conversation. She cleared her throat and attempted a smile, ‘What’s up?’ 

Remind me, how did you ever become a doctor? 

After just staring at her for a couple of second, he returned back to pulling at the box flaps. 

Ok, so maybe not incredibly smart as the lid had only two strips of masking tape to hold him back. Mind you she wasn’t exactly acting smart by just watching him break into her personal belongings either. ‘Hey, please stop that sir.’ Layla slowly approached, trying to appear as none-threatening as possible until she put her hand on the box.

Blue looked up at her and by god if it wasn’t the most gut punching puppy-dog eyes she’d seen in a while. If she allowed herself to switch off, no doubt her heart would be a puddle on the floor. But unfortunately for him, she was a teacher, and teachers know when they’re being played. 

‘Mmm-hm. Very cute, I bet that works on all the ladies.’ She quirked an eyebrow down at him. His lip wobbled and she tried her best not to laugh, ‘There’s nothing in there other than my candles and incense. Sorry to disappoint.’ Bit of a lie. She also had a bottle of whisky that her Nana bought her as a going away gift. But no one needed to know that apart from her.

He shot her a scowl before proceeding to scamper up her arm and perch on her shoulder. That also ruled out possibility of being a student. No student would ever in a million years act like this. ‘So, er, do you talk at all?’ 

A little rumble that sounded like a cat about to meow emanated by her head. 

‘I’ll take that as a no. Should I even ask for a name?’ Again, nothing. She decided to just call him Blue for now. ‘So, do you know where anyone is? It’s kinda quiet.’ Layla briefly wondered if this was going to be a common occurrence. There’s nothing that makes you feel quite as small as an empty building. So, quiet you could hear the wind whistling outside the walls and the rattling of some far-off machinery, probably a power generator. Goosebumps shivered down her spine. 

She wasn’t alone though. There were bound to be people she could at least to make friends with; find some work friends or… someone if she stayed put. This place was too clean to be abandoned. 

Layla took another breath. ‘And I have you, don’t I-?’ 

Blue’s weight shifted off her shoulder and down to her waist. His little hands thieving a pair of keys from her pocket with a wicked grin.

‘Hey!’ 

It jumped off her and, mid leap, disappeared in a cloud of brimstone smoke. Surprise and the odd sense of the air imploding so close sucked the air right out of her. ‘What the-? Ye wee little-’

BAMF!

The sound erupted from behind and she spun on her heel to catch the imp sawing through the tape with her house keys. 

‘Cheeky devil!’ 

Blue cackled and lifted one of the flaps triumphantly, crawling into the box. 

‘No!’ She shoved her hands in after him and scooped him out. He scrabbled and produced strange noises of growling protest as she dumped him on the floor. ‘No.’ She pointed a finger at him. 

Blue just grinned and- BAMF!

The box started shaking and Layla growled. She put her hand back in again only for a sharp pain to shoot from her finger. She flinched but still grabbed onto the critter, pulling him out of the box by his tail with a bloodied hand. He in turn, pulled out the bottle of whisky with him.

‘You bit me!’ She wasn’t angry, more shocked at the sudden betrayal. He happily hung upside-down, gnawing at the bottle cap to gain access to the alcohol. ‘I only have a limited number of fingers ya cheeky eijit, I’d like to keep em.’ 

Just then Layla heard movement. In panic, she dropped Blue back into the box and jammed the lid shut with not-so-causal leaning. The biggest guilty smile slapped itself on her face. 

A woman in a white nurses’ uniform appeared in the hall, a coat half slung on. When she glanced up from her phone her eyes went wide. The nurse looked as panicked as Layla, looking left and right for an escape. 

‘Hiii!’ Layla laughed, because heaven knows why she extended her greeting like a maniac.

‘You’re the newbie.’ The woman pointed at her.

‘Yup, that’s me. The new guy. Newbie. Totally new to… all of this.’ She gestured to the room, slamming her hand back on the box when Blue tried to burst out. 

‘Riiight.’ The nurse nodded slowly, looking away because why would you want to watch the stupidity going on at this moment in time- god she could kick herself! ‘Well I’m Annie Ghazikhanian, one of the resident nurses. We didn’t expect you for another hour.’ 

‘Planes am I right?’ Layla scoffed. ‘How dare they fly.’ 

Silence reigned as they both just tried to work out how to escape this new slice of hell. 

‘Well most of the teachers you should have met are either in class or on a missi-’ Annie paused, ‘I mean a field trip….’

‘Ok. So, what should I do?’ Layla’s cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling.

‘I’ll show you to your room. You can settle and take some time to… relax after your journey.’ 

She was freaked out. Great. But playing the nerves off as travel sickness wasn’t a bad idea. Layla sighed and nodded, ‘Thank you.’ 

Annie reached for the boxes. 

‘Ah!’ Layla lifted the one with Blue inside away from the nurse, ‘Could you take those two, I’ll hold this one and the suitcase. The tape was torn in travel and I need to keep the stuff contained.’ 

‘Sure.’ Annie gave her a weird look before gathering them up. ‘Follow me.’ She started pacing towards an elevator in the far end of the hall. They crammed in and Annie punched in the floor number. 

‘What field trip are they on?’ 

‘Hu?’ 

‘The trip… the one you mentioned. What are they up to?’ 

‘Oh, you know, public relations.’ Annie bit her lip, as if holding in a joke, ‘Just hope they don’t bring it back here again.’

‘Why not?’ 

‘Let’s just say it causes a lot of problems in the school.’

Her heart dropped like lead, ‘Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t realise things were still that bad between mutants and humans.’ 

‘What? No, not like that. I mean people round here are still wary of humans. Like, I’m only here cause of my son. You’ll get the odd sucky stink eye.’ Annie looked incredibly nervous. The question tipped her too far as she just sighed. ‘You know that silence we had earlier, wasn’t that great?' 

What wasn’t she saying? By the way she was fiddling with random items it was clear she wanted to talk. Maybe it wasn’t proper… She did as she was told and stood in silence, only moving to scratch her nose with her stump. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Annie staring, only to look away when Layla turned her head. 

It was a surprise to still be stared at, even in when mutants and cyborgs and goodness knows what else has become normal, but who was she to deny some fun. She restrained a dark chuckle of delicious mischief and turned away again.

When Annie went back to staring, she carefully stared moving it again, up and down, left to right. Sometimes people forget that they are actually watching something that can stare back at them and their confused expressions. The endless amusement!

‘What happened? If I may ask.’ 

So much for silence. But to be fair she was glad Annie had decided to ask. Talking was better than awkward silence and this conversation she could answer in her sleep. ‘I never did kick that nail biting habit,’ she sighed, shooting a smirk.

Annie blanked until she got over the surprise and started to chuckle with Layla. 

‘Seriously? I was just born this way. I’m sure I wrote it down on the forms I sent through.’ In tiny, tiny writing so as not to be judged by it. 

‘Yeah, we knew. Just asking if you knew how it- uh… happened.’ Annie almost said it as if it were some sort of tragedy. But it wasn’t though. Just normal. She was just normal, and that would become abundantly clear once she was surrounded by mutant students and teachers.

‘Nope. As big a mystery as the Bermuda Triangle. Not genetic and my ma didn’t take any squiffy drugs either.’ She shook her head, ‘Sometimes we just are who we are.’ 

The doors pinged, ‘Floor four.’

As they walked down the hall, her mind wandered back to Blue. Was he someone’s pet? He had been suspiciously quiet but the weigh hadn’t changed. He was definitely still in there. As she strained her ears she could just about hear the quiet gulping coming from inside.

‘Ye bloody mare,’ she muttered under her breath. He’s gotten into the bottle! 

‘Hu?’ Annie glanced over at her. 

Layla shook her head and stiffly smiled. ‘Nothing.’

‘This is your room, I’m guessing you’ve got the key.’ They stopped in front of a door right at the end of the hall. 

She nodded and extracted the key from her pocket. Slotting it into the lock, the door buzzed open. 

‘Security,’ Annie mentioned again as she pushed into the rooms, ‘all sorts of tec about yet they insist on keeping it as normal as possible.’ 

Layla shuffled in after her only to gape by the door. She did not expect this much space! There was a small living area as soon as they walked in, already with furniture such as a couch and TV, up two steps there was a wide-open space, to the left there was barely anything, enough for a painting and spiritual stations. A big 90-degree desk installed in the very corner of the room. Windows panelled the wall from the desk to the right side of the room where a double bed sat, clean and unmade, with two bedside tables and beautifully modern lamps. Finally, there was a door that, after a quick head duck inspection, turned out to be a modest size bathroom. 

‘I- I can’t take this. This is too much.’ 

Annie laughed, ‘You’ll be surprised at what a mess can do.’ 

She honestly could’ve worked out of a shoebox and still been happy here. Layla couldn’t stop grinning for real, spinning around in shock. ‘Thank you.’ 

‘Thank Ororo when she gets back. She’s the boss.’ Annie shrugged. They both dumped the boxes and suitcase on the bed and sighed. ‘So, you’ll want a map of this place… Oh- and food is available from 6am-9:30am for breakfast, 12am-1:30pm for lunch and 6pm-9pm if you don’t want cold stuff for dinner. And get in quick if you want any coffee any time, people are willing to fight and cheat for that caffeine fix. Us normies have to weasel our asses off to get close.’ 

‘Normies?’

‘My nickname for us boring folk. Now two of us work in the school. Kinda relieved I’m not the only one.’

‘Oh…’ 

I’d best be going. Lock down “Code Orange”, have to check see if my son is ok. Someone will swing by or e-mail you with the details later.’

Layla could only nod and lead her to the door. She would ask what code orange was, but she was certain it was in the huge document she had yet to memorise. ‘I forgot to ask, what’s your son’s name?’

Annie looked back cautiously, ‘Carter.’ 

‘Say hi to Carter for me. And sorry for holding his busy Ma up.’ 

Annie lit up, all awkwardness averted for now. ‘I will.’

A thought resurged in the back of her mind just as she was leaving. ‘Oh, by the way you wouldn’t know anything about blue people around her would you. Quite small, about this big,’ she indicated size with her hands.

‘Shit.’

‘What?’ Layla blanched. Was it that bad? Did she desecrate something? Was this a secret she shouldn’t have discovered? WOULD SHE BE FIRED BECAUSE OF THIS?!

‘Sounds like the Bamfs- Damn it Kurt! They haven’t swarmed, have they?’ 

They? Swarm?! ‘No. I just… saw… one- what do you mean by swarm? Who’s Kurt?!’

‘Just stay there. Don’t leave. If you see a Bamf just stay as still and as boring as possible.’ She started running down the hallway, ‘And don’t feed them!’

‘What are they, Gremlins?!’ 

When she didn’t respond, Layla deflated. Left in the dust and feeling like she’d been beaten up by an oversized egg whisk, she flopped back into her room. 

Bed. Bed sounded good right now. She kicked off her boots by the door and made her way back, with full intentions just to face-plant into the squishy surface. When confronted with the boxes, she just shoved them over and curled into the space left. Organising could happen in five minutes. Her eyelids sunk with a pleasant warm weight and gravity itself seemed to agree that this was best and it rooted her in place.

‘Gulgh.’ 

She groaned, sitting up to glare at the box closest to her. Her fingers cautiously lifted up the box-flap. 

Inside, Blue cradled an empty bottle of whisky, taking the term “completely sloshed” to a whole new level. That much alcohol should have killed a person his size! She considered changing his name to Gizmo, but didn’t have time to dwell on it as Blue made a disgusting gurgle and turned pale. 

Her eyes widened in horror. She grabbed him and launched into the bathroom. ‘Don’t ye dare vomit!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew that was a long one! 0.0  
> Do leave a comment or a kudos would really like to hear from y'all. I swear the Layla and Kurt will meet soon... very soon... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-*wheeze*  
> Ho boy I'm gonna lie down in a dark room now.

**Author's Note:**

> Do leave a comment or a kudos if you have time. Would really like to hear from y'all and see where I could improve or what your favourite bit was :D  
> See you next chapter! <3


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